"I think it was a significant move that the owner was there (for the 2-1 defeat by Reading)," Pardew said.

"In some ways, it was a watershed game in terms of the problems we were having – his reaction and that of (managing director) Derek (Llambias) has been very strong.

"Therefore, when I turn around at Aston Villa I'm going to see a lot stronger bench and it gives me a much greater chance of turning a situation around or improving a situation, or actually making sure the situation doesn't change.

"I think the signings have shown he (Ashley) is committed to the club because you don't sign players at that age if you're not committed to the club.

"If it was a short-term option he probably would have given me the signal to go and buy some older players to make sure we stayed in the division. If they were any good next year, it wouldn't really matter.

"His vision is much more long-term than that and that's why we've bought the players we have. That didn't happen because of the Reading game."